


Take my hand // j.t.

by brzq



Category: Little Mix (Band)
Genre: F/F, jerrie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-03-12 21:09:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13555629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brzq/pseuds/brzq
Summary: Perrie Edwards, normal South Shields student, stumbles upon Jade Thirlwall, UK's beloved superstar, while attempting to sneak into a vip party with her best friend. It gets messy, it gets angry and, finally, it gets kinda cute.





	1. The party.

They weren't supposed to be there, they weren't invited. That's what Perrie kept repeating herself while Jesy pulled on her right hand.

"C'mon, Perrie! They're gonna catch us because of you, what are you doing?" Jesy looked back at her best friend, faking an angry expression. "What is wrong with you? Don't you wanna get into this place and meet famous people? I heard Zayn Malik's in there!"

Zayn was one of the most popular British singers  _ever_. He used to sing in a boy band, One Direction, until he decided to venture on his own. He was Perrie's celebrity crush, everybody knew it. She had a poster of him on her wall, which Jesy always found funny because what with being an adult but still a fangirl. She also met him, once. When Jesy dragged her to a party in London, coincidentally.

Nodding to herself, Perrie squeezed her friend's hand and let herself be led though the backdoor of South Shields' biggest club. She didn't even know why there was a party there, in her hometown, when most of the people invited were rich enough to at least travel first class to London or even going by taxi. She wasn't that fond of famous people. Other than Zayn and the Kardashians, she didn't spend that much time worrying about what happened to them.

They got in. Of course, Jesy always knew what she was doing. It was dark, with bright lights moving all over the place. It was the most packed she had ever seen that club. Or any club, for that matter.

Jesy looked back at her, screaming, "We going to the bar, right?"

Perrie nodded. It was so loud in there, she didn't think she could be heard over the loud music. At least it was good, and Rihanna was banging from the speakers, so loudly that it seemed like the song was beating from the insides of Perrie's body. It felt cool, the kind of loud that doesn't even let you think.

"Four tequila shots and two of your cheapest beer," said Jesy as soon as she managed to push her way to the bar.

Perrie's blue eyes widened. "Jesy! You know I don't drink!"

"Tonight, you do," laughed the brunette. They were best friends, she knew Perrie had dropped the not-drinking thing long ago, plus they needed to blend in, and what a better way to do so than getting wasted and dancing in the crowd? They took the shots, two each and one after the other. It was always their go-to plan: the shots at the bar and the beer on the dancefloor.

"Let's go!" Maybe it was the alcohol or the sudden realisation that the one and only Zayn Malik, but she turned around beer in hand and suddenly crashed into someone, pouring the cold liquid all over her blouse. "What the f...!?" Angrily looking up ready to go off at whomever had been way to close to her, until her blue eyes got stuck into brown, swirling with concern pools.

Jade Thirlwall.

_Jade. Freacking. Thirlwall_.

Out of everyone that was in that damn party, which should be like three or four hundred people (okay, it wasn't a huge club, they were in a town). Out of everyone, it had to be Jade Thirlwall. Surely the most famous person in the room.

"I... I'm sorry," came out from full, red lips. Perrie's sight dropped down to them, before she managed to force herself to look at Jade's eyes. "Are you...?"

"Okay? Yeah, she's okay," interrupted Jesy. She took her friends arm and pulled at it, trying to get away as fast as possible. It was one thing to sneak into a party, but to get caught? That was never on her plans.

But, of course, they couldn't get away with it.

"No, I just wanted to know..." Jade frowned. "Who are you, exactly?"

"Well, we..." Perrie looked at Jesy.  _What the hell?_  What was she supposed to say? The truth? Some silly lie? This was all Jesy's idea, Jesy's fault, and she was the one who had to say something? She looked at her best friend, pissed for the second time of the night.

Until someone reeking of alcohol dropped their heavy arm around her shoulders. Then they slurred a low "Heyyy..." right into her ear. The rudeness!

Jade rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Leave her alone, Zayn."

Zayn! Perrie widened her eyes and turned around. "Zayn?" This was a dream come true!

"That would be me, blondie!" He smiled his dazing smile, scanning her body and lingering on her chest. Jade and Jesy rolled their eyes at the same time. "Zayn Malik, hopefully the one to take you home tonight," he smiled taking and kissing her hand. "And your name is?"

"Pe-..."

"She's with me, Malik," said Jade with a stern voice. She didn't even want to invite him to  _her_  party, and now he was acting like a douche to some random girl. She could get in trouble because of his despicable attitude, if only she could do something to give him what he deserved...

"Oh, okay, Miss Thirlwall," he laughed. "Don't let it be me the one who ruins your party."

Jade squinted at him while he left. She hated him so much it was ridiculous.

"Why did you do that? That was Zayn Malik!" Perrie looked incredulously at Jade.

Jesy chuckled. "Girl, he's a total moron, she did you a favour!" She looked around smiling. Yes, they did get caught, but it looked like they could get away with it. She extended her hand, "I'm Jesy, and this is Perrie."

Jade smiled and took the extended hand with a confused expression. "Perrie..." She smiled. "I like it. I'm Jeed."

It seemed like she was about to say something else, until someone came out of the blue. Again. "Jade! I've been looking all over for you, until I saw Zayn leaving looking all smug, did you do some... Oh, wow!" She blushed and fell silent.

Right at that moment, Jesy pulled at Perrie's arm ( _again_ ) and managed to get them away from there. "I'm sorry Perrie but we  _really_  need to go."

"Okay," whispered Perrie. She didn't really care anymore. She had actually met Zayn, which was her only purpose of the night, and she had seen an angel. Because Jade really was an angel, or at least she looked like one. And well, she didn't wanna admit it because she had been fangirling over Zayn for years, but it felt nice when Jade saved her from him. Not that she needed any saving, she knew how to fend for herself, but still, it felt... nice.

Her eyes looked like a new, undiscovered shade of brown. They had a warmness inside of them that made her heart skip a beat and for an instant the Earth stopped turning and she forgot about everything around her. Because were there was Jade, it seemed like there couldn't be anything else. Maybe that's why she was so famous.

When they were away of that sweaty mess, she would have to talk about it with Jesy. Or stalk Jade on her social media, which of course would be way easier.

 

 

 

Jade couldn't shake Perrie's image from her head, either. But she would talk about it with no best friend. Not because she didn't trust hers, Leigh-Anne, but because she really didn't like talking about herself and  _her feelings_. And anyway, Leigh had dragged her to their vip table and it totally looked like she was already worried about something, so there was no need to bother her about some silly crush.

"Jade?" Leigh-Anne closed her eyes, frustrated. "Did you invite them? Do you know them?"

"No?" Jade looked around them. She didn't know half of the people at her own party, her discography organised it for the launch of her forth album. The club was packed with people who worked behind the scenes and, while she liked getting to know the people she worked with, she didn't know every single person. "Why, do you know them?"

Leigh-Anne huffed, pushing her braids away from her face. "Do I know them?  _Do I know them!?_ " She started pacing and looking franticly around them. "That was Jesy! You know,  _the_  Jesy!"

"Wait, what?" Unable to keep a straight face anymore, Jade burst into laughter. So, that was the girl that Leigh-Anne had met at some party a few months ago and the one she wouldn't stop talking about. Thinking about it, that was what she knew Perrie from. Because being the good friend that she was, she had stalked Jesy's instagram a few times, and obviously she had noticed her blonde best friend. Only that she looked way different in person, she was a... a goddess.

She needed to do something.

 

 

 

The next morning, Perrie's phone dinged on her bedtable. The English sky was grey, and she didn't plan on waking up for a few more hours, so she turned around and kept sleeping. She would look at it later.

**_jadethirlwall_** _started following you_.


	2. Daydreams.

Nine days. It had been nine days since the party, and everything had been a whirlwind ever since.

Jade’s album had been received better than she expected, which made her go from signings to radio interviews to tv appearances. And let’s not talk about the paparazzi, because they suddenly were _everywhere_. Like, she couldn’t even get out of her house without flashes blinding her and it was driving her crazy.

It had also been nine days of intense stalking, let’s say it all. Ever since she’d started following Perrie on instagram, it was like she couldn’t help herself and whenever she had a free minute she would grab her phone and look at the blonde beauty. She felt ridiculous for doing so, but she didn’t know how to stop. It could’ve been a simple encounter with some random pretty face, she had had many of those, but by choosing to _stalk_ her it was slowly developing into a silly crush that made zero sense and had her wondering why she couldn’t find someone and simply have a normal relationship, like everyone.

But after all it wasn’t her fault, really, because Perrie had that something that she felt was missing in her life. By looking at her pictures and watching every single one of her instastories she could tell that she was funny, nice and very probably a good person. She was also pretty. The prettiest thing she had ever seen, and she had travelled twice all around the world. But looking at Perrie she felt something different, a kind of tingle that told her they were meant to meet each other and that they would meet again.

Her hair was blonde like the sun shining on a golden surface. The other night she daydreamt about running her fingers through her tresses until falling asleep. When looking closely at her face (meaning _zooming in_ ), she discovered that yes, her eyes were blue, like the sky and the oceans and every cliché thing to say, but they also had a black ring around them that gave her a quite unique look. Jade didn’t even care whether it was that unique, she only wished she could see them again in real life.

After being so busy and so distraught, Leigh Anne forced her to spend a girls’ night in together. She hadn’t seen her best friend in more than a week and they _needed to talk_. That’s why she had a curly ball of energy messing around in her kitchen trying to make some margaritas or whatever. In the meantime, she was looking at Perrie’s instagram account. _Again_.

“Jade Thirlwall!” Jade jumped startled. “What do you think you are doing glued to your phone _on girls’ night_!?” Throwing herself on her friend’s couch, Leigh passed her a glass filled to the rim and frowned at her.

Locking her phone, Jade sighed. “Okay, I’m sorry. I promise no more phone tonight.”

Leigh Anne smiled. Being her friend was really easy, they never argued. They did once, but it was back in highschool, before either of them was famous, and it didn’t really count because by the end of the day they’d already gotten over it.

“Who are you texting, anyway?”

Jade blushed. “No one?” Technically, it was true.

“Okay…” Leigh looked at her suspiciously. “You know, I’ve been looking at you and you seem… weird? Everything’s okay, right?”

Rolling her eyes, Jade took a sip of her drink. “Yes, everything is _okay_ , don’t you see?” Dramatically opening her arms, she exclaimed, “I made it! My album is _the shit_ and the critics’ say I could get a Brit for it. _A Brit_!” Looking at her friend’s unimpressed face, she added, “Aaaand…” Sip. “And…” Sip. “Well…” She downed the rest of her drink. “I think I like someone?”

“You like… _someone_?” Leigh Anne widened her eyes.

“Yes, I…” Jade smiled shyly and looked down. “I know it might sound kinda pathetic, but I met this girl at the party and we didn’t really talk but she looked fantastic, with her blonde hair and her ocean blue eyes and her dazzling smile…”

Shaking her head, Leigh Anne laughed at her friend’s overly-dramatic antics. “Please tell me you didn’t write a song about her because that would be enough to have me calling Mama Thirlwall and organising an intervention, to be honest.”

Jade huffed. “I’m sorry I have a sensible soul.” She crossed her arms and looked away. _Like a little girl_ , she thought. But she didn’t know what else to do, she just wanted her friend to make an effort to understand her.

“Aw, Jade!” Laughing, Leigh enveloped Jade with her slender arms. “It was just a joke! I mean it is kinda weird, but at least you are getting over that last asshole and that is _dope_!”

Gratefully smiling, Jade relaxed herself in her friend’s embrace. Since she’d already started talking, she could as well say it all. “I followed her on insta and I put her notifications on.”

“Jade!” She pushed her away. “You’ve been stalking her!”

“At least I didn’t like any of her old pics?” Jade shrugged.

Shaking her head, Leigh Anne grabbed Jade’s phone and unlocked it. She had forced Jade long ago to save her finger print on her phone so she could always unlock it, because according to Leigh Anne “best friends must know everything about the other’s allergies and be able to unlock each other’s phones, in case of emergency,” which she actually found rather cute because Leigh only used her knowledge to take selfies and order takeout.

“Okay, I really really _really_ wanted to, but I thought it could come off as creepy and being famous I can’t go around doing weird stuff like that…” Looking down, she whispered, “Will you help me send her a message?”

“A… message?” The curly-haired girl nodded and tapped into the instagram icon. “What’s her user?”

“Perrieedwards.”

“Perrie… Jesy’s friend? Jade!” Leigh Anne looked at her angrily. “How could you like someone who’s friends with _that girl_?”

“Oh my… Leigh Anne! Will you help me or not!?” Jade got up and started pacing around her living room. “I like her, okay? And it’s not my fault that you had some weird ass fling with Jesy and were unable to talk to her afterwards! Maybe she’s waiting for you to talk to her and thinking you’re some rude idiot who won’t even _text her_!”

“Wow, just…” She closed her eyes and waited until Jade had relaxed and sat down. “I’m gonna ignore you said that until after we send your girl a message, _but_ we will talk about this because you don’t say something like that to your _best friend_.”

Jade immediately regretted it. She had gone too far, she shouldn’t have said that. She lowered her head and did what she had to do. “I’m sorry, Leigh Anne.”

“It’s okay, silly.” She hugged her friend and smiled. “We’ll talk about it later, we have all night to talk!”

 

 

 ** _jadethirlwall_** _has sent you a message_ : hey! I don’t know if you remember, but we bumped into each other last Saturday at the party, I bathed you in beer? I just wanted to apologise and of course if you took your clothes to the dry cleaner I will willingly pay for it and, if you wanna, I’d like to invite you and one friend to my next life performance. I’d also love it if we could get to know each other? Anyway I’m here if you need anything. Jade xx.

 

 

“Jesy!” Perrie ran frantically around her mom’s house. “Jesy!”

Grunting, Jesy looked up from her laptop. They were supposed to be searching for a two-bedroom flat in London where they would live together happily ever after as the bestest of friends, not freaking out over whatever. “What!?”

“Jade Thirlwall the gorgeous, sweet, amazing, famous singer _just sent me a message_! Look!”

“Oh my God, what?” Laughing, Jesy took Perrie’s phone and read over the message. “This is fantastic! You’ve been talking about her nonstop for nine days, now you’ll finally _shut up_!”

Perrie rolled her eyes. She knew Jesy was only joking, she never actually minded when she talked too much about something (or someone). Minus when she was doing it with Zayn, because for some unknown reason Jesy really despised him. But it was okay with Jade, she was really private with her life, but she seemed really cool and she remembered once she had read that even the Queen liked her, so it had to mean something, right?

It wasn’t that she liked her. At least, not like _that_. She had never thought that much about it but she’d only been with men (boys) and well, of course she wouldn’t be opposed to kissing Rihanna and she thought Jade was really pretty, she might have spent these days daydreaming about her, but that didn’t have to mean anything. Anyway, she didn’t care that much about this stuff, she was a go-with-the-flow kinda gal.

But last night she had thought about Jade until falling asleep. About her luscious hair and her big, brown eyes and her velvety voice. She loved her voice. She had found a picture of her fit, naked back that perfectly showed her tattoo and for a moment she imagined tracing the Arabic phrase, following the ink with her finger pads. She’d actually succumbed to sleep with a small smile on her face, wondering about how soft her plump lips would feel on hers.

 

 

 ** _perrieedwards_** _has sent you a message_ : hey, Jade! Don’t worry about the clothes, they weren’t expensive or anything like that, so I accept your apologies. I’m busy right now searching for a flat in London, but you can always talk to me and I’ll answer as soon as I have some free minutes! I just hope you don’t find it boring that my life’s not as interesting as you. Perrie x.


	3. Wishes.

_Jade smiled sweetly, pushing a lock of blonde hair behind Perrie´s ear, making her blush and look down. Caressing her cheek, she whispered, “Hey, look at me.”_

_Perrie couldn’t but giggle. She was on cloud nine, sitting on the comfiest couch ever with Jade staring at her with her warm, brown eyes. She felt… wanted. Slowly, they got closer and closer, and Perrie closed her eyes. She felt Jade’s warm breath hitting her lips, a sudden need growing inside of her until it felt unbearable. She wanted, needed, to kiss her. She needed to feel their lips colliding, lips that she spent days and nights daydreaming about. About their softness, their taste. She couldn’t take it any longer._

_Burying her fingers in Jade’s hair, lightly scratching her scalp, she whispered, “Kiss me.”_

Startled, Perrie opened her eyes and groaned. A dream, it had all been a dream. Worst thing was, she knew it was her subconscious messing with her because of how much time she spent thinking about Jade, but she wished she could sleep a whole night without waking up disappointed due to too-good-to-be-true dreams.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. She was way too old to have a crush on a celebrity, she couldn’t understand why it was happening _to her_. She had always thought Jade was beautiful, but that was it. Now, she couldn’t stop thinking about her. She lived in a non-stop wondering about someone who only knew of her existence due to a chance meeting in a small-town pub where she wasn’t even supposed to be. And yes, Jade had messaged her, but she was probably just being polite, since she hadn’t messaged her again, and she should really _really_ stop fantasising about it.

Plus, she had her college graduation to attend and Jesy was getting really impatient about moving in together. They had planned about this forever, and she delayed it with her impromptu decision of studying, but Jesy, being her best friend and all that, was patient with her. Even if it meant being alone in London, sharing a flat with two noisy strangers that were, according to her own words, “driving her nuts”.

She had to get her shit together. At least before Jesy got tired of her and skinned her alive.

 

 

 

Jade was _busy_. She had to promote her new music, and she felt like she owed so much to her fans… She couldn’t stop doing signings and talking to everyone who stopped her on the streets. Her fans were paying her for doing what she loved the most, it was only fair she did everything she could to pay them back.

That’s why she was reunited with Leigh Anne, her new, unofficial stylist. That, and the fact that she had sort of insulted her.

“You know I already have enough coats, right?” Jade scrunched her nose while looking at Leigh’s selection for her next work-related events.

Rolling her eyes, Leigh Anne sighed, “You own _parkas_ , Jade. That is not considered a coat, and if you ask me, not even appropriate to go outside.”

“Geez, Leigh!” Jade frowned. “One more disrespect of my parkas, and I might have to fire you.”

The curly haired girl scoffed. “How are you gonna fire me if you aren’t even paying me?”

That made Jade think. “Do you… want me to pay you? I mean, I could if you wanted to, I just didn’t think it?” Maybe she was being an awful friend by taking Leigh for granted. Yeah, it was true that she already had a job and was wealthy enough, but maybe if she was _working_ for her she deserved… to be paid? She felt awful for not having even thought about it.

Leigh Anne laughed. “Jade, we are best friends. If I wanted you to pay me, I would say so.” She put the clothes down and sat beside Jade. “You know, I only do this because I wanna spend more time with you.”

“Okay…” Jade smiled opening her arms and waiting until Leigh let herself fall into them. “But I could, since you don’t want my money, allow you to… raid my closet?”

“Yes!” Leigh Anne let out one of her famous deafening screams. “I was already planning on taking home that Gucci bag that you only used once, but it’s nice to have your permission.”

Jade let out a loud laugh. That’s why she loved her. She was so natural and pure, it made her feel at home. Like, only her mother and baby Karl could make her feel as comfortable, as loved, as Leigh Anne made her feel. She didn’t think she could live without her, even. She loved her.

“I love you.”

“Aw, I love you too, babe!” Leigh squeezed her in between laughs.

“And…” Jade looked at her hands. “I’m sorry.” She sighed, “For what I said the other day.”

And thus the mood changed. Jade had been rude with her best friend, all over some girl that she barely knew. That was something they should talk about, and they should’ve already done it.

“It’s okay, Jade. I accept your apologies.” Leigh smiled that sweet, small smile of hers that made her pictures win thousands of likes. “You actually made me think, and I talked to Jesy.” She blushed.

Jade widened her eyes. “You did?”

“Yeah, and… She says Perrie talks a lot about you. I mean, I guess all of your fans do, but according to her she even talks about you _in her sleep_.” Smirking, Leigh continued, “But… there’s a problem. She’s like, really sad because of you.”

“Sad?” Good, now she was worried. “Because of me?” And maybe ignoring her friend, again. “But like, you can tell me about Jesy first, you know.”

Throwing her head back in laugh, Leigh Anne pinched Jade’s leg, “We’ll talk about her later, but she says you didn’t message Perrie back, which I find kind of weird seeing as you are totally obsessed with her and I’ve seen you looking at her pictures more than once. What are you waiting for!?”

Awkward. Jade turned on her tv and went straight to Netflix, putting on, oh surprise, RuPaul’s Drag Race. “I didn’t know what to say,” she mumbled.

“Idiot.”

 

 

 

Perrie’s phone dinged on the table. For the third time in less than two minutes. She was dying to look at it, but Jesy wouldn’t allow it. It was a girls’ night, and phones weren’t allowed on girls’ night.

“You know, I talked to Leigh Anne the other day.”

“You did?” Something that Jesy always found cute about Perrie was how her accent got heavier when she asked something. “When?”

“I don’t know, two days ago? We apologised for being rude bitches and it’s all in the past now, I think. We both messed up and that’s it.” She slapped Perrie’s leg, smirking in anticipation, “And she also said that Jade likes you,” she singsonged.

Perrie huffed. She didn’t want to talk about Jade. And specially not about how much she wished they could talk and get to know each other and fall in… Okay, she needed to stop herself there. Things couldn’t get this out of her hands, she was an adult. She had to control herself.

The bell rang, and Jesy got up to open the door. It was the pizzas, and since she had been staying at the Edwards’ for a long while now, Jesy wouldn’t stop doing things around the house. Debbie had given up after two days of arguing with her, so now they let her do her thing and “pay them back” as she wished.

While she was doing that, Perrie moved at Flash-like speed and grabbed her phone. She nervously unblocked it, to see that she had three direct messages from Jade.

**_jadethirwall_ ** _: hey_

**_jadethirwall_ ** _: I’m sorry it took me so long to answer, I didn’t really know what to say_

**_jadethirwall_ ** _: how are you?_

She had messaged her! She couldn’t believe it. But she had to put her phone back and pretend she had seen nothing, or Jesy would really go off on her and she wasn’t in the mood for no bad vibes. Or…

“Wow, the good was really cute! Should we drink water or wine?” Asked Jesy while putting the pizzas down in the living room and going for glasses.

Perrie followed her, “Wine’s cool with me.” Grabbing two bottles of her special, strawberry red wine, she followed her friend around. “You know, could I use my phone for a moment? I know we said we would pay full attention to each other, but I heard it go off and I think it could be Jade…”

Opening one of Perrie’s bottles and serving the wine, Jesy rolled her eyes. “Answer her, I don’t want you looking at your phone all night with your puppy eyes.” She gulped a big portion of the wine and added, “But, we still have at least three hours left of our girls’ night, a flat to find and some important stuff to deal with, so that’ll be it until bed time.”

Jumping up and down, Perrie hugged her. “Thank you!” Debbie liked to joke about it, but Jesy really was a second mom to her. Though only like 10% of the time, or else it wouldn’t be healthy to have your best friend full-time looking over you.

**_perrieedwards_ ** _: it’s okay, though I don’t believe you didn’t know what to say, you seem so interesting and cool and everything…_

**_perrieedwards_ ** _: I’m fine, btw. wbu?_


	4. Interviews.

“Good morning, London! We are here with Jade Thirlwall, our favourite superstar, and let me tell you, she’s wearing some of her new merch and you are so not ready for it!”

“Thank you, Roman. The new merch will be available on my shows, and we’re working on putting it on my online store for anyone who can’t see me live.”

“That’s good, that’s really good! Your first single went number one in a few hours and the album sales are your best so far, how do you feel about that?”

“I’m really grateful for my fans. All of this wouldn’t be possible without them, they are the ones helping me achieve my dreams. We, me and my team, worked our asses off on the studio for this album to be exactly how we had imagined, and maybe it’s not perfect but to us it is.”

“That’s who you were referring to when you put “This one is for you” on this album’s booklet, right?”

“Yeah, exactly. I’ve had people ask me if it was about a special someone and, you know, my special someone when it comes to my music will always be my fans. I do the music for myself, ‘cause I love it, but it’s because of them that I release it.”

“Wow, Jade! Those are some beautiful words for your fans!”

“Well, I mean… They spend their money on me, the least I owe them is some respect, right?”

“Damn right! You can’t see her, but she is _blushing_ , guys! She truly appreciates you. Aaaaand talking about fans, there’s some rumours going around about you randomly following a fan on instagram and liking some of their not-so-recent pics… A fan that happens to be from your hometown. Something to say about that?”

“No, not really. I follow and like my fans pictures, it’s not that big of a deal. If I see something I like, then hit like. It’s quite simple, actually.”

“So, you’re saying there’s nothing special going on, then?”

“Nah, we met some time ago and I decided to follow her. I do that with almost everyone I have a nice conversation with, that’s why I follow you!”

“Good to know you think I’m nice! Did you hear her? Jade Thirlwall thinks I’m nice to talk to!”

“I mean, you’re okay when you’re not being annoying, I guess.”

“I… Okay, let’s change topics here because I got the feeling I’m gonna end up getting burnt… The question that everyone’s dying to ask: anyone special in your life yet?”

“If you are asking if I am single, the answer is yes. Still single and ready to mingle.”

“What’s with all the love songs, then? And you know your fans like plotting about this, so better think your answer through.”

“There’s nothing to think, really. I haven’t always been single, we all know that, and anyway just because I don’t have someone right now it doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings, you know? Love is a very polyvalent emotion. I love a lot of people: my mam, my brother, my best friend… I don’t necessarily talk about romantic love on all of my songs.”

“Speaking of your best friend, that’s Leigh Anne, right?”

“Duh!”

“Well guys, I have a surprise for you. Jade brought Leigh Anne with her! And yes, I tried to get her live, but she refused saying this is all about Jade and her music. Friendship goals or nah?”

“Meeting Leigh is possibly the best thing that fame has brought me. We became friends before I became a big name, so she’s been by my side ever since I couldn’t get a good record deal and my biggest crowd wouldn’t reach a thousand of people. She’s sweet, caring, clever, hard-working… She’s also being my stylist for free just because she says she misses me! Best friend ever, I love her.”

“Oh my God, I am hearing her scream through the soundproof glass! Guys, miss Pinnock has some strong lungs!”

“Yeah, she gets easily excited, too.”

“She’s a designer, but we’ve recently heard her singing on snapchat. Ever thought of collaborating?”

“We usually sing together, while fooling around, but she’s always said no when I’ve tried to get her on the studio. Doesn’t mean we’ll never collaborate, but it’s a no for the time being.”

“You heard it here first, people! Leighade like singing together! And that’s a wrap for today, thank you Jade for meeting with us and thank you guys for listening to us.”

“Thank you for having me, Roman.”

“This is Capital FM, London’s number one music station, and the first one to bring you Jade Thirlwall’s singles. Tomorrow we’ll have Niall Horan and one special guest, so tune in at 6am sharp!”

 

“Jeed! You killed it!” Leigh Anne ran to hug her friend as soon as she exited the radio booth. “And thank you for saying all that nice shit about me, you know some good publicity doesn’t harm nobody.”

Jade threw her head back in laughter. “I only said the truth, silly!”

“I know, I just wanted to play humble,” smirked Leigh. “Should we go get some breakfast, or do you have to stay here?”

“Nah, we can go.”

Jade laced her arm with Leigh’s and started leading them to the elevator, her security following. She didn’t like always having a huge man behind her, but the press was getting restless due to the lack of scandals in her personal life and she couldn’t go outside without flashes blinding her. They were so busy talking about what they would eat, that they didn’t notice the doors opening.

And out came Zayn Malik. “Well hello, Jade. Fancy seeing you here.”

“Zayn,” Jade nodded in acknowledgement. She didn’t know he would be there, if she’d known… She would’ve still gone because she didn’t like arguing with her management for petty stuff, but at least she would’ve prepared herself.

“And Leigh Anne Pinnock!” Zayn looked her up and down, to which she scrunched her nose. She didn’t like him. Not only because of Jade, she simply didn’t. There was something about him that made her feel uneasy. “You looking fine, maybe we could go out sometime? You know, for some drinks and then you are invited to stay for the night.”

Before Jade could say anything, Leigh sneered at him, “In your dreams, Zayn.”

He tried to step towards them, but security quickly put himself in front of the girls, before whispering in a deep voice, “She said no.”

Huffing, Zayn walked away, presumably to his own interview. Jade couldn’t understand how he could be so annoying. Turning to her security, she smiled, “Thank you.”

“No problem, it’s my job after all.” He nodded at them and waited for the elevator to reach the bottom floor.

“We’re going for breakfast now, you could join us if you want,” Leigh Anne winked at him, embarrassing Jade.

“I don’t think so, miss Pinnock, but please make sure that Jade eats some fruits. The other day she almost passed out in rehearsals and we’re waiting on some results from the doctor.” He opened the building’s door for them and pushed the paps away so they could reach the car.

Once inside the comfort of her car, with the driver and security sitting in the front, Jade frowned, “I could fire you for oversharing.”

“You wouldn’t, he chuckled before tuning the girls out for the rest of the ride.

“He’s hot,” whispered Leigh Anne.

“Weren’t you dating Andre?”

“Open relationship, remember,” smiled the curly-haired girl. She couldn’t see her boyfriend as much as she wished, due to their works commitments, so they came to an agreement: when they couldn’t be together, they could be with other people, but no feelings were to be involved. “We will talk about your health later, maybe with Norma, but I wanted to congrat you on how you dealt with the Perrie topic!”

“I only said the truth, really.” Jade blushed. “We talk from time to time, but it’s not like she’s a special fan or anything. We barely know each other.”

“But you’re crushing on her!” Leigh Anne totally screamed on her ear, making her feel like she was going deaf. Having her as a friend was all good, minus when it was dangerous for her eardrums.

 

 

“Perrie, pet, why are you crying?”

Sniffing, Perrie turned away from her mother. This was embarrassing. She had a good relationship with her mom, quite ideal actually, but she wasn’t ready to talk about this with her, much less come out to her while saying that she liked _a famous singer_. Thinking about it, it sounded quite pathetic.

“Can you get Jesy?”

Debbie frowned while patting her daughter’s back. “Okay, honey. But just know that you can talk to me about anything.”

“I know, mam, I love you.”

“I love you too, honey.”

It took Jesy ten seconds to reach Perrie’s bedroom and sit down beside her. Hugging her, she asked, “What’s wrong, blondie?”

“I-“ she hiccupped. “Jade did an interview and said that I’m just one more fan. I’m not special to her!”

“What!?” Laughing, Jesy playfully pushed Perrie away, who looked at her with puffy, red eyes. “How can you be so intelligent but so dumb at the same time?”

“Wow thank you, you are a really good friend,” snarled Perrie.

Shrugging, Jesy ignored her sarcastic comment, “Why would she say something private live on national radio, when you are still getting to know each other. That would mean throwing you into the public eye, which to be honest I would have resented her for.”

“You’re…” Perrie sighed. “You’re right, I guess.”

“I’m always right, Perrieele.”

Laughing, Perrie got up and washed her face. She shouldn’t have cried for this. She felt stupid for being so sensible about a crush.

“When we finally move to London, you could meet with her, don’t you think?” Jesy screamed at her from Perrie’s bed. “We’ll be there in a few weeks, and she’ll probably be less busy and have time to meet with you and hold your hand and kiss you and…”

“Shut up!” Perrie ran back into her bedroom and jumped on top of her friend. “I’m gonna message her and then we could go shopping or something.”

“I’ll go help your mom with cooking and leave you to your sexting, then.” Jesy strutted out of the bedroom with a smirk, hearing the blonde scream her name as she closed the door.

 

 

**_perrieedwards_ ** _: I listened to your interview this morning_

**_jadethirlwall_ ** _: you did? did you like it?_

**_perrieedwards_ ** _: yeah. you said real nice stuff about leigh anne_

**_jadethirlwall_ ** _: she’s my best friend, duh. hope you didn’t mind me downplaying us, I’ve seen some fans comments and I don’t want anyone to bother you._

**_perrieedwards_ ** _: nah it’s cool, I understood._

**_perrieedwards_ ** _: btw I’ve been thinking, we could meet when I move down to London_

**_perrieedwards_ ** _: only if you want, of course_

**_jadethirlwall_ ** _: yes_

**_jadethirlwall_ ** _: I want to meet, I mean_


	5. Robin Hood.

You know that feeling you get when you know you’re about to do something that could either ruin your life or be the best thing that’s ever happened to you?

That’s how Jade felt. And that’s saying a lot, because… Well, she’s a singer. It’s hard to imagine something bigger than the moment when you finally achieve your dreams of stardom, right? But this was it for her. She felt it. She could feel it inside of her, with every pump of her beating heart.

Though she was still getting mentally ready to do it, since it was something that could really upset Simon, and he was her boss.

Lying back on her couch, she looked around for Leigh Anne, who was trying to find her the perfect outfit or something.

“Leigh! C’mon, me mam’s almost here!” Norma was going to stay with her for a while, since she was leaving on her UK tour in three weeks and she wanted her and Leigh Anne to join her. “Leigh-Anne Pinnock! Get your damn ass here!”

A loud bang echoed through the house, and she turned around to see her friend sprawled on the floor. Had she fallen down the stairs?

“Leigh!” She nervously got up. “What happened? Are you okay?” She shook her friend and looked around for her phone. “Do you hear me? Do I call an ambulance?”

“S...” Leigh waved her hand around, weakly pushing at Jade. “Stop, I’m fine,” she whispered. “I slipped, that’s all”.

Frowning, Jade inspected her friend’s face. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am sure that I am okay, now let me get up!” Pushing Jade out of her way, she got up and went to open the door. Her legs were wobbly, but Jade knew better than to say something. “You didn’t even hear your ma’ knocking?”

Confused, Jade got up and followed Leigh. A lot of weird things had been happening lately, and she was way too tired to waste her time trying to understand all of them. She had to focus on her career, on what risky steps she wanted to take next, on how to keep her private life out of the public eye.

According to her manager, being seen with someone her age, someone who wasn’t a well-known friend like Leigh or Danielle, could do her sales some good. Not that she felt like she needed it, but she was considering giving the press something to wonder about while she was actually living her private life far away from their camera lenses. Like, this way she could get to know Perrie better and explore whatever they had going on, without people getting in her way.

The thing is, she didn’t really want to do that. She wanted to have someone, fall in love with them, and be proud about it. And don’t get her wrong, because she loved her fans and her music and her life, but sometimes… She simply wished she could be normal, have a normal life and be able to meet new people without having to worry about second intentions, like with… With Jed.

“Jeed! You ain’t gonna hug your ma’?” Yelled Norma. Like, _yelled_. So loud, that even Leigh widened her eyes.

“Ma’! I swear if the neighbours complain because of you…” Laughing, she let Norma hug her. She had missed her, really. On the one hand, she would change all of her fame and money for some family time. She would do in in a heartbeat, really. On the other, she understood it was just how things are supposed to go: we grow up and we leave our parents, we fly away. “Leigh, did you even get my clothes ready or…?”

“They’re on a few suitcases upstairs, will you go up and grab it? We don’t want a repeat of my accident, right?”

Frowning, Jade walked to her bedroom. Everyone knew what Leigh Anne meant by “a few suitcases” and she was _frightened_. She also knew how bad she was at keeping secrets, so she expected to go back down and find her telling her mam everything she’d been up to.

She was trying to grab all of the damn suitcases (five, _five suitcases_ ), when her phone dinged in her jeans. She smiled, already knowing who it was. They had exchanged numbers only two days ago, and everything was going really smooth.

 ** _Perrie_** : _can I call you?_

She stopped what she was doing.

 ** _Jade_** : _everything okay?_

 ** _Perrie_** : _yeah, I just wanna hear your voice_

She smiled. Perrie was sweet, sweeter than anyone she’d ever met, and she liked that. It made her feel special, truly special, the kind of special that only your family and best friends can make you feel.

She loved the feeling.

 

 

 

Perrie threw her head back in laughter. She hadn’t wanted to go out with this guy her mother wanted to set her up with, but she could see herself becoming good friends with him. He was handsome, funny and sweet. And quite hot, to be fair. That’s what being a football player did to you, she guessed.

“Hey, you wanna do something funny?” He asked with a charming smile. Damn, he was kinda cute, too.

“What kind of funny?”

“I don’t know, we could…” Looking around the restaurant they were having lunch at, he leaned forwards and whispered, “We could get out of here without paying.”

“What!?” Already feeling bad for how illegal it all felt, Perrie shook her head. “We can’t do that!”

“Oh, c’mon!” He laughed. Perrie didn’t wanna say it yet, but his evil smirk was doing a way too good job at convincing her. “This is a shitty place, the waiters aren’t paid enough money, and we wouldn’t be hurting anyone.”

“But it would be…” Nervously looking at her sides, Perrie whispered as low as she could, “stealing!”

He laughed. He simply had to. Of course he had already paid for their meals, he just wanted to seem all cool and mysterious and dangerous to Perrie. Her mom had told him she liked that famous guy, Zayn or whatever, and he thought it would be worth it to be a little _weird_ , since he already felt she was way out of his league.

“Oh, don’t be silly! It would be a Robin Hood kind of stealing, so it’d be okay!”

She tried really hard not to let it show on her face, but she wanted to frown at hearing him call her _silly_. Not that she wasn’t intelligent or that there was some problem with being silly, she praised herself way more on having a kind spirit, but she was so sick and tired of being made fun of…

Leaving it aside, she smiled and nodded. “Okay,” she said. She would do it.

They did it like this: she pretended to have a call and went out to answer her phone, taking her coat and everything, and he ran after her in a few minutes. Then, they ran to his car, which thankfully wasn’t right in front of the restaurant, and he drove her back home.

“Bye, Alex. I really had a good time.”

Smiling, he looked at her and answered, “The feeling is mutual.”

He let her get out of his car without trying to kiss her or anything, which she was immensely grateful for because, let’s be real, it’s really awkward when guys do that and you don’t feel like it and…

She was about to open her front door, when he shouted at her, “Will I see you again?”

“Probably, but who knows?” She laughed.

She didn’t know how Debbie knew him, but she was glad she gave him an opportunity. Not that she liked him like that, but it felt nice to do something with real people, outside of her talking with Jade on the phone.

Jesy was at her mother’s, getting ready to leave to London in a week, and she hadn’t been doing much other than mop and bother her mum. But still, at the end of the day, the only one she wanted to be with was the one she couldn’t actually be with. That’s the thing with talking to someone famous, she imagined.

That’s why she chose to text Jade as soon as she managed to avoid Mrs. Edwards questions and get into her bedroom.

 ** _Perrie_** : _can I call you?_

 ** _Jade_** : _everything okay?_

 ** _Perrie_** : _yeah, I just wanna hear your voice_

 ** _Jade_** : _aw, so sweet! but can it wait until later? me ma’s here and I don’t want her asking questions_

Smiling, Perrie imagined not only meeting Jade, but she taking her to meet her family. Proudly so, even. She couldn’t wait until all of her dreams came true, to be honest.

 ** _Perrie_** : _of course, we don’t want your mama getting noisy. text me when you can talk, I miss you xx_

 ** _Jade_** : _duh! btw look at twitter in like half an hour xx_

At twitter? Frowning, Perrie programmed her alarm for half an hour later and decided to take a nap. She didn’t have anything better to do, actually.

 

 

 

 ** _jadethirlwall_** : _I was me before I met you, but now I am a better me. took me a while to see, how fun life is with an improved self-esteem. (no new songs coming, pls relax) xx_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. I've been busy with writing my dissertation and feeling really down, so not in the mood to write any happy stuff. Hopefully I'll manage to get back on track soon.


End file.
